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bag. I didn’t care what Luka said. I wanted to be prepared. What if I didn’t like the toothpaste they provided for me? I didn’t want to be a diva and ask for the one I wanted.

After I finished all my remaining class requirements last night, I gave my apartment a

much needed general cleaning. My mother taught me never to leave my place dirty when I

planned on an extended trip. Sink, free of cutlery. Bathroom, spotless. Sleeping area,

organized. Living room, bursting at the seams with a superhot rock star. I swallowed and

lifted my camera. In the morning light, Luka looked like he belonged in my small apartment.

He had his legs crossed and his arms stretched over the top of my couch.
Again with the

tapping of a beat with his fingers
. Was he constantly thinking about music?

Another flawless photo of him filed for future reference, I picked up my duffle and slung it

over my shoulder. “Ready,” I said.

Luka unfolded himself off my happy seeming couch and came to stand before me. Without

my leave, he took my duffle and shuffled toward the door before I could protest his

kidnapping of my stuff. What? Did he think I would make a run for it?

Shelving my annoyance for when we were in the SUV, I gave my apartment one last look

over. A pang of loneliness pinched at my chest. Weird. I’d actually miss this place. I knew I’d have to leave after I graduate, but now that I had to spend a month away I almost didn’t want

to go. I spent so much time within its cozy four walls that I couldn’t see myself living

anywhere else.

At the door, I lifted my camera up again and took several pictures to bring with me.

Shaking my head against the moment of weakness, I fished out my keys from my back

pocket and closed the door.

Exiting my building, the same beefy bodyguard who threatened to take away my camera

opened the door of the SUV for me. I stopped beside him.

“What’s your name?” I asked, giving him a once over. In the light of day, he didn’t seem as

threatening.

“Eli,” he grunted.

I shot my eyebrow up at him. “It’s nice meeting you, Eli.”

“Will you stop flirting with our protection detail and get in here?” Luka called from

somewhere within the tank. I didn’t think they made SUVs this big anymore.

Eli grabbed my arm and practically lifted me inside. I actually had to take a step just to get in. That was how tall the monstrosity Luka called a car was.

I scooted across the leather seat until I reached Luka’s side. His phone occupied his

attention. Good. I didn’t need him distracting me for the rest of the trip. I wanted to use these three hours to mentally prepare myself for the introspective. The pictures had to turn out just right, and for that to happen, I needed to know what I wanted when I wanted it.

The SUV glided out of the curb into traffic.

“We’re taking a detour,” Luka said, tapping what I assumed was a message into his phone.

I missed mine already even if I didn’t use it much. Funny how that happens.

My mind immediately latched on to the word
detour
. “Where are we going?”

Luka set his phone aside. “What’s our ETA, Eli?”

Apparently, the big guy acted as driver as well as protection.

“We’re fifteen minutes out, barring any traffic.”

“Good.” Luka settled back into his seat, resting his cheek on a fist. “Yana booked the band

to play at one of the morning shows. We’re headed there now. I suggest you have your

camera with you. Yana says she wants you to take some promotional photos she can use for

articles on the internet.”

I didn’t think my eyebrows could rise any higher than they have with each sentence Luka

completed. The band was playing at a morning show. Yana wanted me to take pictures. They

will be used on the internet. I knew I was repeating Luka’s words, but I had to if I stood a

chance at digesting them properly.

“Of course,” Luka spoke again before I could form a reply, “you will be compensated for

any images you take used for promotional purposes.” He said all this without looking at me.

In the span of a couple of hours, Luka had rendered me speechless again. What was it with

this family and their ability to put you on the spot? My first paid photography gig. My

stomach fluttered with anticipation.

“Which show?” I managed to blurt out.

“Crescent City Live.”

My jaw dropped then. I should have known Vicious wouldn’t play just any show. Yana got

them on
the
show.

A heavy sigh came from Luka. “So much for taking a break. Sometimes I hate my sister’s

workaholic tendencies.”

Without thinking about my words, I said, “Is it true you had a breakdown during your

world tour?”

Slowly, Luka faced me. The look on his face took my breath away. The blue in his eyes

turned to ice. The line of his lips disappeared. And the bolt on his eyebrow quivered.

“What do you know about that?”

At my periphery, I noticed Eli shaking his head like I’d stepped into a danger zone after

ignoring all the Do Not Enter signs.

“J-J-Just…” I bit the inside of my cheek. I hated that I stammered. “Just some rumors I

read on the internet.”

The tension in the SUV eased when Luka leaned back and closed his eyes. He massaged

his forehead before pinching the bridge of his nose. He breathed in deeply and exhaled

slowly.

“Don’t always believe what you read, Dakota.”

Only the second time he’d mentioned my name and it sent chills down my spine.

My brain must have short-circuited along the way because I had the gall to ask, “What

happened? Why did you have to move shows and come back to the States?”

Upon opening his eyes, Luka narrowed his gaze at me. Like at the club, he reached for my

patch. And like at the club, I flinched back, moving to the farthest side of the car. Luka

dropped his hand to his side. If he really wanted to, he could have reached in further, but he didn’t.

“Do you like talking about what happened to your eye?” he asked with soft menace.

A full on shudder rolled through my body. “No.”

“Then you know how I feel about what happened during the tour.”

He said it so matter-of-factly, like we were discussing the weather. Knowing when a door I

shouldn’t open was in front of me, I sat up straighter and dropped the topic. At about the

same time, the SUV rolled to a stop. Eli left the driver side and opened the door on Luka’s

side. The second Luka slid out, a deafening roar followed. I couldn’t move.

Thinking Luka would leave me, I didn’t expect him to turn back around. With a

mischievous grin on his lips, he reached inside the car for me. Dumbstruck, I stared at the

lines on his open palm.

“Come on, Dakota,” he urged above the din. “I want you to share this moment with me

Chapter Eight

Show

Screaming fans ten rows deep pushed against the barriers lining the entrance to Sutcliff

Center on Main Avenue, home of Crescent City Live—the top rated morning show in the

States. Many of them screamed Luka’s name. Most just screamed, waving their posters with

pictures of him and other members of the band in the air.

Luka transformed from the quiet, brooding guy seated beside me in the SUV to a smiling,

gracious celebrity. Eli handed him a Sharpie and he signed posters while making his way to

the entrance. I lagged behind, camera up. My finger squeezed the shutter release once per

second. I didn’t think I’d ever taken so many pictures in ten minutes. Our time spent outside

seemed longer even if the entrance barely stretched a few yards from the curb.

The din consumed me. Flashing lights from other cameras blinded me. This was the first

time I felt adoration as energy, and Luka fed on it like a beautiful vampire. He grabbed the

phone of one fan and leaned in to take a photo with her. She burst into tears the second Luka

moved on. I’d never seen anything like it.

Once inside the building, Eli told Luka the rest of the band were already at sound check.

Luka nodded in silence, totally focused. My ears rang as Eli ushered us into an elevator. Luka leaned against one wall, arms crossed and head down. The aluminum paneling reflected him

on both sides so it looked like there were three Luka’s inside the elevator. Not one to waste a photo opportunity, I snapped the shot.

“God, you really don’t take a bad picture,” I said more to myself while I scanned through

today’s gallery on my digi screen.

Luka didn’t respond, totally in some zone.

According to Eli, the band would be playing in studio today instead of the regular street

performance. The way he said it made it seem like an unusual occurrence. I knew next to

nothing about the band and how they usually did things so I just went with the flow.

The elevator dinged to a stop. When the doors opened, we were met by Yana.

Luka pushed away from the wall he leaned against and stepped out of the cab with ground

eating strides. Hands in his pockets, he went straight to the well-lit performance space

flanked by large TV cameras.

“It’s good to have you with us, Dakota.” Yana smiled. Red and black streaks colored her

almost white blond hair. For a second I wondered if she wore wigs or if that was actually her

natural hair. The dress she wore today was made of intricately braided silk ribbon, also in red and black. Queen of Hearts, anyone?

I had to blink several times to focus on what she said to me. “My pleasure. Actually, thank

you for this. I think I already have a couple of excellent shots that you can use for

promotion.”

She nodded then ushered me toward where the band was setting up. “Good. You’ll be

standing over here. Make sure to get several shots from as many angles as you can without

obscuring the TV cameras. This will be one song then a quick interview then another song. I

want photos of everything, even candids. Am I making myself clear?”

Whoa! Yana in business mode blew my mind. I liked it.

Grinning, I positioned myself first to the left of the band. Demitri was in tight leather

pants and shirtless. I got the feeling this was usually how he preferred to look while

performing. With a body like that and the intricate tattoos covering his arm, I’d walk around

half naked too. Phoenix sported a midriff baring top, showing off a bellybutton ring and

tattered black jeans stuffed in knee-high boots. She had her brown hair in a faux-hawk. Red

lipstick seemed to be her signature look. Dray, on the other hand, wore a simple black

sweater and jeans combo, but today he wore gloves. The studio did seem cold, so gloves made

sense. His hair fell around his head without any product in it.

Seeing the whole band together in all their black against the bright lights was a stunning

thing. Before I knew it, I was releasing my shutter in successive shots. Somewhere behind me

Yana spoke to someone. As I skirted behind the cameras to get to the right of the band where

Luka tuned his bass, a girl with straight jet hair that reached her waist stepped forward and

patted Luka’s face with a small round sponge. Luka endured the attention without complaint.

Then the girl moved on to Phoenix. She took out a large makeup brush and tapped it against a

container with pressed powder. Phoenix tilted her chin up so the girl could dust down her

neck. She did the same for Demitri and lastly Dray. With their flawless skin, I had no idea

what the makeup was for. To my eye they certainly didn’t need it.

A guy with a headset and a clipboard announced they would be on the air in ten and

started counting down. By five, everyone in the band had their game faces on—serious and

sexy. By one, a voice from somewhere introduced the band and the song they would be

playing. Dray counted out a beat with his drumsticks. Demitri strummed his guitar, quickly

followed by Luka. Phoenix tapped her foot to the song. She closed both her hands around the

mic stand and began singing in the clear, tremulous voice of hers. I recognized the song as

the same one they opened with during their gig at Sacrifice. It must have been their latest

single.

The song spoke of a girl lost inside herself. It somehow fit my image of Phoenix as she

sang. Maybe Demitri and Luka wrote it with her in mind. The beats were catchy and the

chorus easy to follow along. No wonder it topped the iTunes charts. Listening to Vicious play

live made me rethink my love for country music.

I liked country because the songs had a story to tell. I soon realized the song Vicious

currently played actually did the same. When the line “I run away to find who I am” reached

my ears I had to stop and stare. That lyric resonated with me. I knew that if I travelled the

world I would find who I was.

My gaze landed on Luka. It seemed he read my thoughts because every time Phoenix sang

that line in the chorus, he looked at me. Under the studio lights, his eyes took on the kind of blue I’d only seen during the clearest summer days. I lifted my camera and watched him

through the lens. Now that he wasn’t hiding, he looked like he belonged.

I made the mistake of focusing on his fingers strumming the strings of the bass. A

different image entered my mind. I swallowed. Hard. Imagining those fingers roaming parts

of my body that had been neglected for so long brought a hot blush to my cheeks.

“Doesn’t he look glorious?”

I jumped out of my skin at Yana’s sudden appearance by my side. “I don’t know what